28/04/2024

P19 for Binder & early end for Agius in Jerez

It was a fateful race Sunday for the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto2 Team in Jerez, as both Senna Agius and Darryn Binder crashed in the early stages and were unfortunately left without points in Spain, although the South African was able to re-join the race.

Changeable weather, difficult track conditions and fierce competition made up for a real challenge at the Circuito de Jerez - Ángel Nieto. After narrowly missing out on Qualifying 2, both riders from the German racing team started the 21-lap race from the seventh row. At the start of the race, the aim was to make up as many positions as possible, especially from the back of the grid, and keep up with the field. It was precisely at this stage that Darryn Binder, who had gained three positions at the start, and Senna Agius went full throttle.

However, things got heated on the first lap and the Australian got into trouble at the exit of turn 6, touching the rear of Zonta van den Goorbergh after the latter unexpectedly returned to the track from the gravel. The Dutchman received a long lap penalty for this, but the 18-year-old Moto2 World Championship rookie Senna Agius unfortunately crashed out of the race.
A few laps later, on lap seven, Darryn Binder suffered a similar fate. In an attempt to capitalise on his good start and find his rhythm, the South African also slid into the gravel at turn six. The 26-year-old was able to re-join the race to gather more data and eventually finished the Spanish Grand Prix in nineteenth place.

The Moto2 riders can also look forward to a day of testing on the 4.42-kilometre Circuito de Jerez - Ángel Nieto on Tuesday. With the knowledge gained, the duo will head to Le Mans for the French Grand Prix from the 10th - 12th of May.

RESULTS

Race
1. Fermin ALDEGUER/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO
2. Joe ROBERTS/ USA/ KALEX – (+1.287)
3. Manuel GONZALEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – (+1.568)
19. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – (+ 1 Lap)
DNF Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX

World Championship
1. ROBERTS Joe/ USA – 69
2. GARCIA Sergio/ SPA – 64
3. ALDEGUER Fermin/ SPA – 54
21. AGIUS Senna/ AUS – 2
23. BINDER Darryn/ RSA – 1

Senna Agius

DNF
Moto2 World Championship 2024 - P21 - 2 Points

"I went into turn 6 on my normal line and saw that van den Goorbergh had gone very wide and gone off the track. I already had the corner behind me, but suddenly I just saw this other bike in front of me. I think it was reckless of him that he cut back like that. I am very disappointed, but in future, we should be further forward in the field to avoid such critical situations. We need to be better in qualifying, so we don't get into similar situations on the first laps. That will make life a lot better."

Darryn Binder

P19 - (+1 Lap)
Moto2 World Championship 2024 - P23 - 1 Point

"There were tricky conditions with some crashes around me. I got a good start and tried to settle into my own rhythm while working all through the race but, unfortunately, I came into Turn 6 on the same line as before although this time closed the front [end]. I was able to restart and continue the race to gain some information and to keep working forward."

Jürgen Lingg

Team Manager

"First of all, congratulations to our Moto3 team on Collin's victory today. It was our first win of the year, and we are all very happy about it. Congratulations to Collin and he also deserves a lot of praise because the way he did it was very impressive. Now we come to our Moto2 summary, where the pace would certainly have been there today with Senna. It was there all weekend. But the problem was not the race, we have to work on our qualifying performance because you simply have to start from further forward, then such incidents won't happen, or at least less. We were very confident for the race because we knew that he could set a strong pace. Unfortunately, he was pulled out of the race through no fault of his own. I am relieved that he didn't hurt himself. Now we have to put Jerez behind us and see if we can make it into Q2 and get a better grid position. Nevertheless, Senna's pace is extremely high for a rookie. So, we have to stay calm, keep working and get a better grip on the one or other issue, then the results will come soon."

"For Darryn, the weekend started with a difficult Friday. It was very difficult, even though Saturday was positive for him. Of course, we weren't expecting miracles, but things were going in the right direction. Accordingly, we had hoped that he might score a point or two because we know that Darryn can always go one better on Sunday. He is simply a racer. Unfortunately, he had an unfortunate crash today that ruined his race. Luckily he was also unhurt. He was able to continue, but by the time he was able to start the bike again, the train had long since left the track. So, from his point of view, we also have to check off Jerez."

Moto2 Pictures – Sunday Jerez GP 2024

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